Revision as of 10:46, 9 April 2009

Editors: Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel. And please pay attention to formatting and grammar. Preview your changes before saving them. Thanks!

Page 964

claret-colored
A deep purplish red. Claret is also the name of a wine that is produced in the Bordeaux region of France and slang for 'blood'.[1]

fuller's earth or sawdust
Fuller's earth is an absorbent clay that is used in talcum powder. Sawdust and chalk (talcum) are used by tennis players to keep their grip dry.
[2]

Page 965

pigeon-toed
having toes that point inward, like this: / \

shifted antigens
An antigenic shift generally refers to the medical term that explains how two strains of the influenza virus join together to form a new subtype and, in turn, become more virile. The new subtype has a mixture of the antigens from the originals. An antigen is the substance that stimulates the immune system. [3]

It's used here to refer to rumors about severe weather and the Quebec Junior Team. These rumors undergo an antigenic shift as they circulate around the locker room. They combine and are reconstituted as a new, more virile, rumor before being returned to the rumor's originator.

the Csikszentmihalyi kid was doing a kind of piaffer
A piaffer is a trot in place where the legs are lifted high. This type of trot is usually done by a horse, but it's part of the 'Csikszentmihalyi kid's' pre-game ritual to stretch his hip flexors.

The name Csikszentmihalyi may be a humorous nod to the Hungarian psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi who is noted for his work in happiness and creativity. He is known as the world's leading researcher on positive psychology and proposed the concept of Flow. Flow is the mental state whereby a person is fully immersed and focused on an activity (such as Tennis). [4]

an ascot or a very fey tie
An ascot is a scarf or tie with broad ends typically worn for formal occasions[5]. If the tie very fey, it is excessively refined [6] or fancy to the point that it could be confused with an ascot.

invoking Camilla, goddess of speed and light step
Camilla of Volsci, a heroine from Roman Mythology, found in Virgil's prose and ancient pottery paintings. Virgil claimed Camilla was so fast that she could run across the ocean without wetting her feet and across fields of grain without bending the grass. [7] To 'invoke' is to petition for help with an incantation.[8]

As part of their pre-match ritual, the female players, Thode and Donni Stott, can be heard praying to or otherwise petitioning Camilla whose light footed speed may translate to success on the court.

Page 966

Frankenstein
or, more correctly, Frankenstein's monster

Hal
who is clearly not narrating anymore, unless he is speaking of himself in the third person

they all in here existed basically as Fourier Transforms of postures and little routines

A Fourier transform is a mathematical operation that transforms one function into another. This type of transform is named in honour of Joseph Fourier. [10] To exist basically as Fourier Transforms of postures and routines is to exist as an abstraction where a student is trained in postures and routines is transformed into tennis player capable of executing a variation of those postures and routines.

Page 967

ciquatoxic
an alternate or mispelling of 'ciguatoxic'. Reef fish can carry ciguatoxins, which cause ciguatera food poisoning [12] in humans who consume the contaminated fish. These toxins may be specific to certain reefs, are concentrated up the food chain and as such are more likely to be present in larger reef fish, and cannot be destroyed by cooking and freezing [13]

P.O.
philharmonic orchestra

R.C. clergy
Roman Catholic priesthood

Jesuit seminary
Theological training for the Society of Jesus Roman Catholic religious order of clerks, known as Jesuits. Jesuits are known for for their missionary work, social justice and human rights. [14]